Jury convicts man on lesser charge in shooting death of elementary school teacher

Julene Isaacson, 61, was shot to death at a home in Morrison in October 2018.

Credit: First Judicial District Attorney

Jerald Arthur Cross

Author: Janet Oravetz (9News)

Published: 2:41 PM MST November 8, 2019

Updated: 2:41 PM MST December 30, 2019

MORRISON, Colo. — Jefferson County jurors convicted a man of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of his girlfriend at a home in Morrison.

Jerald Cross had been charged with first-degree murder for the Oct.7, 2018 killing of Julene Isaacson, who was a teacher at Red Rocks Elementary School.

Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) were called to 5288 Pintail Court, where they found Isaacson's body. She had been shot twice in the head, according to a tweet from the First Judicial District Attorney's Office.

During the his trial, jurors heard testimony that Cross had been "physical with" Isaacson in the past, and that she had planned to break up with him in the past but did not.

Isaacson had told family and friends that she had an "exit strategy" to end the relationship but wanted to wait until the end of the school term to lessen the impact on her students.

Jurors heard testimony that Cross said he committed the murder because he "couldn’t give her up."

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict Thursday night for second-degree murder and one violent crime count, which is a sentence enhancer.